


Thank You For Leaving

by zoomzoom



Category: Birds of Prey (Comic), Birds of Prey (TV), DCU, DCU (Comics), Harley Quinn (Comics)
Genre: Healing, discussions of domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26270884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoomzoom/pseuds/zoomzoom
Summary: Harley's visitor thanks her for inspiring them to leave their abusive ex
Kudos: 2





	Thank You For Leaving

“What’s that for?” Dr. Harleen Quinzel asked, pointing at the small cake in front of her.

“It’s a thank you.” The person across the table shifted awkwardly in their seat. The prison guards were very good at glaring. They wondered if the guards had to take classes on how to be properly menacing before they were allowed to work at Arkham Asylum.

“I gathered that,” she said, glancing back at the crooked words written in frosting before looking back up at her visitor, “But we’ve never spoken before, as far as I can remember. What on earth are you thanking me for?”

They shifted awkwardly again, eyes looking anywhere but the woman in front of them. She didn’t want to press, didn’t want to scare off her only visitor in months, but for the life of her, she couldn’t see why she was being presented with a strawberry layer cake.

“You beat up the Joker.” The words were rushed in a terrified way, but not of her; her visitor glanced nervously around the room again, eyes flitting over the guards in a way that suggested they’d rather not look at them, that they couldn’t help looking at them. Big folks with guns made them uncomfortable then.

“He hurt you, sugar?” She made herself sound gentle, years of practice dealing with clients making themselves obvious, even after being out of practice for so long.

“Not him, no.” They swallowed heavily, looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there. “ _ Iwasinanabusiverelationship. _ ”

The words were quiet, painfully obvious that they had barely gotten them out. Harleen sagged into her chair. Once they’d started, it was so much easier to keep going. Law of Inertia and all that.

“It didn’t seem like there was a way out. I felt stuck, like even if I  _ did _ leave it wouldn’t get any better. Anyways, he said he loved me, so it was totally fine, right? I couldn’t imagine leaving him.” They sucked in a rattling breath. “But then you fought the Joker. It was right outside my window, so I could hear what you were yelling, not just what went on TV later. You  _ left _ him. He was awful, so you  _ left _ . And I thought, maybe, I could leave too.

“So, thank you. You did something really scary, and you helped me do the same, even if it wasn’t quite to the extremes of your situation.”

Harleen stood slowly and rounded the little table to wrap her arms around the hunched form. Slowly, ever so slowly, shoulders dropped down from around their ears and trembling arms raised to hug her back.


End file.
